AI-Enhanced Customer Journey: A Complete AI Guide for Leads – MITechNews

In today’s fast-evolving digital landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t just a trendy buzzword—it’s becoming the backbone of modern marketing. Gone are the days when AI was reserved for advanced tech teams or enterprise budgets. Now, AI tools are empowering marketers to engage smarter, personalize at scale, and guide customers through every stage of the AI-enhanced customer journey with unprecedented precision. From targeting the right audience to shaping real-time decisions, AI is rapidly changing the rules of engagement.
At SmartFinds Marketing, we’ve been exploring how AI can enhance every layer of the customer experience. In our latest MITechTV segment, we delved into what it means to fully embrace the AI-enhanced customer journey—from the moment someone discovers your brand to the point where they become your most vocal advocate. This blog unpacks those insights and offers practical strategies for mid-sized businesses that want to compete (and win) in a world where intelligent automation is no longer optional—it’s essential.
Before businesses can fully capitalize on the power of AI, they need to establish a solid digital foundation. That means having a well-structured website, effective SEO, consistent content strategy, and CRM systems that talk to one another. These components aren’t just marketing basics—they’re the core infrastructure that allows AI to do its job. Without them, even the most powerful AI tools will struggle to deliver meaningful results because they have no data to analyze or optimize.
Once that groundwork is in place, the real transformation begins. AI doesn’t just enhance individual marketing tactics—it connects them into a seamless customer experience. The next step is to map and implement AI across the full journey, from brand discovery and initial engagement all the way through conversion, retention, and long-term loyalty. When used strategically, AI becomes the engine that turns your marketing infrastructure into a high-performing customer journey that drives growth, efficiency, and competitive advantage.
AI is dramatically changing how customers discover brands. It’s no longer about ranking on page one of Google. Tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot now shape brand discovery through conversational research. That’s why the awareness phase of the AI-enhanced customer journey requires businesses to think beyond traditional SEO.
Instead of focusing solely on keywords, companies must ensure they appear in AI-generated research results with the right context. For example, when asking ChatGPT to recommend a B2B marketing agency, it often lists large, national firms. But by following up with “What would it take to recommend SmartFinds Marketing?” you uncover a checklist of requirements to show up: verified schema markup, authoritative mentions, and trustworthy content.
This is the essence of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) — a strategic approach to ensure your brand surfaces in generative AI tools. GEO goes beyond long-tail keywords to emphasize structured data, reputation, and content depth.
A digital infographic showing AI tools integrated across the customer funnel stages of awareness, consideration, conversion, loyalty, and advocacy.
 
Once potential customers land on your website or engage with your brand, the stakes rise. This is the critical moment where interest must be converted into action. But conversion isn’t just about a button click—it’s about trust. In today’s AI-driven marketing landscape, brands must go beyond flashy designs or clever headlines. They need to create personalized, credible, and intuitive experiences that resonate with each visitor. AI helps businesses do exactly that—by using behavioral data, automation, and real-time optimization to guide visitors toward conversion while reinforcing trust at every step.
Together, these AI-driven tactics form more than just a list of best practices—they create a unified system that earns credibility and inspires confidence. By combining trust signals like testimonials and press mentions with data-driven content optimization, businesses can present a compelling, trustworthy brand presence that both customers and AI platforms recognize. This isn’t just about converting a single visitor; it’s about building a digital reputation that drives consistent engagement. In doing so, you strengthen the AI-enhanced customer journey right at the point where it matters most—conversion.
“AI isn’t just a tool—it’s your smartest marketing partner. When integrated thoughtfully across the customer journey, it doesn’t just increase conversions; it builds lasting relationships.”
– Melih Oztalay, CEO, SmartFinds Marketing
After a successful conversion, the focus often shifts too quickly to the next lead—but the real opportunity lies in retention. Keeping existing customers engaged, satisfied, and loyal is not only more cost-effective than acquiring new ones, but it also lays the groundwork for long-term growth. AI enables marketers to move beyond static email campaigns or basic segmentation. Instead, it empowers them to deliver timely, relevant content and interactions that reflect a deep understanding of each customer’s behavior, preferences, and lifecycle stage.
Retention powered by AI is about more than just keeping customers—it’s about continuously nurturing them through meaningful, data-informed experiences. By anticipating customer needs and proactively addressing churn risks, businesses can build deeper relationships that extend well beyond the first transaction. AI not only helps you listen to your customers more effectively, it enables you to respond with precision, empathy, and speed. This is where loyalty begins, and where the AI-enhanced customer journey evolves into a true partnership between brand and buyer.
The most powerful marketing doesn’t come from your ads—it comes from your customers. When satisfied clients become vocal supporters, they amplify your brand far more effectively than any paid campaign. But advocacy doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of consistent, trust-building experiences that make customers feel valued and heard. With the help of AI, businesses can identify potential advocates, nurture those relationships, and prompt strategic engagement at just the right moments to inspire referrals, reviews, and brand evangelism.
AI makes it possible to scale what used to be manual, one-to-one outreach into a thoughtful, personalized program that encourages and rewards loyalty. From referral prompts to VIP recognition, these moments of advocacy are built on trust that’s been earned throughout the customer journey. With the right systems in place, your happiest clients become your most persuasive storytellers—bringing others into the fold and completing the cycle of the AI-enhanced customer journey in the most authentic way possible.
 
In 2024, SmartFinds Marketing partnered with a global leader in Content Delivery Network (CDN) solutions. Despite being in business for over 20 years, the client had minimal online visibility and ranked 12th to 14th out of 14 competitors in digital metrics. Their sales-first model failed to generate measurable results, even after investing over $1 million in sales team efforts.
SmartFinds deployed a comprehensive multi-channel marketing program to create awareness, drive conversions, and generate leads:
This AI-supported, multi-touch approach transformed lead generation from negligible to consistent and measurable. The program not only enhanced visibility in the U.S. market but also positioned the client as a competitive player in the global CDN industry—a direct reflection of how an AI-enhanced customer journey drives business growth from awareness to advocacy.
A: It refers to the integration of artificial intelligence at every touch point of the customer lifecycle—from brand discovery and engagement to retention and advocacy.
A: GEO is the practice of optimizing your web presence for generative AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude so your brand appears in AI-driven search experiences.
A: Start by evaluating your website’s SEO, CRM tools, content assets, and analytics. From there, introduce AI in manageable steps like schema generation, blog creation, or CRO testing.
A: Not necessarily. Many free or freemium AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Ubersuggest offer immediate value for businesses testing AI-powered marketing workflows.
A: Begin with a few core questions. Ask ChatGPT what it would take to recommend your business. Use that checklist to begin building AI-compatible trust signals and content.
A: Absolutely. AI-driven tools allow for smarter ad targeting, conversion optimization, and content personalization, all of which contribute to more efficient marketing spend and improved ROI. AI also helps identify what’s not working—saving time and money.
A: Key metrics will vary by stage, but may include impressions and engagement for awareness, conversion rates for acquisition, retention rates and repeat purchases for loyalty, and referral counts or review volume for advocacy. AI platforms often offer dashboards that automate and visualize these insights.
A: While AI can be applied across nearly all industries, those with complex buying cycles—such as B2B services, healthcare, education, and e-commerce—often see the greatest benefits. AI enables personalization and automation at a scale that’s hard to replicate manually.
The key takeaway from this discussion? Don’t just automate random pieces of your marketing. Instead, map the full AI-enhanced customer journey first. Understand the stages: Awareness, Conversion, Retention, and Advocacy. Then layer AI onto each stage with a purpose.
As Melih shared: “Build the journey before you automate it.”
Businesses that embrace AI not just as a toolkit, but as a customer experience partner will stand out. They’ll attract better leads, convert more effectively, and create lasting customer relationships.
To learn more, check out the AI SEO + GEO Guide available from SmartFinds Marketing or connect with us on LinkedIn for continuing insights.
SmartFinds Marketing is a digital marketing agency. SmartFinds provides full marketing strategies and solutions to businesses. The marketing process is managed by a team of contemporary marketers who manage new ideas and incorporate early adoption of new strategic technologies to achieve successful results. Helping customers understand web marketing and the web advertising world through education and consultation is part of any SmartFinds program.
“Our trusted years of experience in advertising and marketing solutions date back to 1987 and the Internet since 1994. Since the very early days of the industry, we traversed the Internet to gain the knowledge, expertise, and more importantly, the imagination to apply the Internet’s resources to your business needs”, says Melih Oztalay.
Melih Oztalay is an industry leader as a guest author on many websites like Search Engine Journal. Additionally, he is a guest speaker at many conferences and events along with being a subject matter expert called on my radio shows and podcasts.
SmartFinds Marketing….Creative strategies. Innovative ideas. Use the full power of the Internet with us!


Email: [email protected]

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AI & SEO: How to Prepare in 2025 – Exploding Topics

Blog > AI & SEO: How to Prepare in 2025
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When it comes to SEO and AI in 2025…
AI is a short-term opportunity. But a long-term threat.
On one hand, AI-powered tools let you streamline SEO tasks, automate grunt work, and scale like never before.
On the other hand? AI might be the biggest existential threat SEO has ever faced.
Let’s break it all down.
Use trending keywords to create content your audience craves.
For years, SEO required a ton of manual work.
Keyword research, clustering, content writing, on page optimization, link building—it was a grind.
But with AI?
You can do these tasks faster, cheaper, and (in many cases) better.
Old way: You’d fire up a keyword tool, plug in some seed keywords, export a list, and then manually brainstorm related topics.
New way: You just ask AI.
Ask ChatGPT or Claude, “What are some topics my audience cares about?” and you’ll get a list of relevant keyword ideas in seconds.
Keyword brainstorming in ChatGPT
No brainstorming.
No spreadsheets.
Just results.
To be clear: there’s still a place for using a keyword tool for uncovering what people search for.
After all, a tool like ChatGPT isn’t going to give you key stats around each keyword (like search volume and keyword difficulty).
Example of keyword data in Semrush Keyword Overview
It’s more that brainstorming keywords (which can be a tricky and time-consuming first step) is streamlined like crazy thanks to AI.
How about another example? AI-Powered Topic Clustering.
Further Reading: Top AI SEO Tools for 2025
In the past, clustering keywords into topics required a mix of tools and manual analysis. You had to:
Now? You just upload a CSV and let AI do the clustering for you.
There are even a few custom GPTs dedicated to this task:
Keyword clustering GPTs in ChatGPT
And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
AI can also help with content briefs, meta descriptions, internal linking strategies—even outlining entire blog posts (if done correctly).
In short: it’s never been easier to rank more with less effort.
Sounds amazing, right?
Well… here’s the HUGE catch.
SEO has always been about playing the Google game.
You figure out what Google wants. Optimize for it.
And generate lots of traffic, leads and customers.
But what happens when people stop using Google?
Because let’s be real—it’s already happening.
People are increasingly skipping Google entirely and going straight to LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity.
In fact, a survey of over 1,300 Americans by Evercore analysts revealed that 8% of respondents now use ChatGPT as their primary search engine.
(This was up from only 1% in June 2024)
And another industry study found that Gen AI search engine use is up 5.25x since January 2024.
Chart showing revenue growth from AI search
Right now, this shift is mostly happening among marketers, founders, and people in tech.
But give it 5 to 10 years, and it’ll be mainstream.
In fact, LLM search is expected to dominate as soon as 2028. 
That’s a HUGE problem for SEO.
If fewer people search on Google, then organic traffic shrinks.
Which means rankings become less valuable.
And all the AI-powered SEO tricks in the world won’t matter if there’s no one searching for your content.
But even if Google does survive, AI is still a massive threat.
AI Overviews (formerly SGE) are already changing the SERPs. Instead of clicking on a site, users get AI-generated answers directly on the SERPs.
Example of an AI overview in Google SERP
Which means? Fewer clicks for websites.
One early study found that organic CTR dropped by nearly 4x when there was an AI Overview in the SERPs.
AI overviews impacting CTR
On the bright side, organic CTRs actually increased when the site was listed as a source in the AI Overview.
Now, to be fair, this shift hasn’t fully played out yet. From the analytics I’ve seen, traffic is still stable (or even up in some cases) for many publishers.
But if Google starts prioritizing AI answers over organic results, the old #1 ranking could get pushed down to the new #5 or #6—buried under ads, AI snippets, and other SERP features.
And when that happens, even the best SEO strategy won’t save you.
Now it's time for me to show you how to prepare for an AI-focused SEO future.
Get a complete view of your competitors to anticipate trends and lead your market
As I said earlier:
AI is a short-term opportunity. But a long-term threat.
Which means Google isn’t dead yet.
In fact, traditional SEO still works incredibly well.
For example, Backlinko’s organic traffic continues to grow:
Growth in Backlinko traffic
That said, you absolutely need to prepare for the AI-driven future.
But that doesn't mean you need to abandon Google altogether.
Instead, the smart move is to milk SEO for everything it’s worth while shifting resources toward future-proofing your strategy.
Despite all the noise around AI, Google search is still an insanely powerful, high-ROI platform.
Case in point? Exploding Topics.
ET homepage
We target a tech-savvy, early-adopter audience.
These are the exact type of people you’d expect to be ditching Google for AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
And yet?
Our organic traffic has seen steady growth over the last 2 years. 
Exploding Topics organic traffic
And we’re not alone.
Across the board, many sites (especially trusted, authoritative brands) are still thriving in organic search.
Note: If you’re in a B2C niche targeting “normies”, you’ve got even longer before your target customers start using LLMs.
So if your instinct is to pivot away from SEO completely, don’t.
Otherwise, it’s like you’re walking away from a gold mine because you heard it might dry up 5 years from now.
Now let’s get into some tactical things you can do to optimize for Google and LLMs.
If you want to rank in Google, you need backlinks, brand searches, and trust signals.
In fact, Semrush’s most recent Google Ranking Factors study found a strong correlation between Authority Score and rankings.
Top Semrush ranking factors
That’s been true for years. And it’s not changing anytime soon.
But what is changing is AI models determine authority.
Think about it. Both Google and AI-driven search engines like Perplexity face the same challenge:
How do you separate reliable, high-quality sources from low-value, untrustworthy ones?
To do that, they need signals to indicate which sources should be trusted, cited, or ignored.
Google has used backlinks, brand mentions, and engagement signals for years to determine authority.
And AI models will likely use the same signals that Google uses.
After all, LLMs are trained on an enormous dataset.
So they need to decide which sources to prioritize when answering a question.
The best way to do that? Authority signals.
The best way to approach SEO today is to double down on authority-building strategies that work for search engines and LLMs.
Backlinko's Reverse Outreach strategy
Backlink data for Backlinko
Exploding Topics newsletter
Example of original research
Exploding Topics in Google Search
In the future, you won’t worry as much about ranking #1 in Google.
The real goal will be ensuring your content is the one being cited in AI-generated answers, like this:
Example of an AI-generated answer to a prompt
Being seen as an authority in your niche will be a BIG part of “ranking” in AI results.
Technical SEO is important—but most people overdo it.
They obsess over tiny issues that don’t actually impact rankings, spending hours chasing "errors" that Google either doesn’t care about or can work around on its own.
Yes, your site should be fast and crawlable.
But taking your page speed from 1.2 seconds to 1.19 seconds? That’s not going to help you rank.
Even before AI started shaking things up, Google was already getting better at dealing with messy websites.
For example… Sitemaps used to be critical.
Today, Google barely relies on them because it can discover and index content just fine on its own.
No, not direct anyway
Other examples?
In short, Google has evolved. It’s not as fragile as it once was. And AI-driven search engines will only make technical SEO even less of a priority.
Instead of getting stuck fixing minor issues, focus on the few things that actually impact your rankings:
Indexing data in Google Search Console
Everything else? Not worth obsessing over.
If you're spending hours tracking down technical SEO "errors" that aren’t affecting rankings, you’re wasting time.
That energy is better spent on:
Technical SEO is like plumbing—it needs to work, but no one cares how fancy it is.
Fix the basics, then move on to what actually grows your traffic.
For years, SEO has been all about keywords.
Fire up a tool, find some high-volume search terms, and build your content around them.
That strategy still works—for now.
But in the future, “keywords” are going to be replaced with prompts.
Google has been shifting away from exact-match keywords for years. Instead, it focuses on meaning and intent.
Updated Google guidance on keyword usage
And AI-driven search engines? They don’t use keywords at all.
A study by AI search by Semrush found that:
This is a HUGE shift.
People don’t interact with AI chatbots like they do with Google. Instead of typing “best running shoes 2025,” they ask:
"I run five miles a day on pavement. I have mild overpronation. What are the best running shoes for support and durability?"
Completely different format. Completely different intent.
If you’re still doing SEO the old way, you’ll struggle to rank in AI-driven search results.
Instead of starting with keywords, start with topics and audience research.
Here’s how:
Example of AI-generated answer
For example, Exploding Topics shows up as a source in quite a few LLM results:
Example of Exploding Topics in AI answer
For years, informational content has been a go-to SEO play.
You answer common questions, rank for long-tail keywords, and drive organic traffic.
That strategy is dying FAST.
Google’s AI Overviews and LLMs are killing search traffic for basic informational queries.
Try searching “How to use garlic chives?”—you’re almost guaranteed to get an AI-generated answer at the top of the SERP.
AI Overview for an informational query
The days of pulling in thousands of clicks for simple, fact-based content are over.
And honestly? It’s not a huge loss.
Pure informational content rarely converts well anyway.
Conversion rates for BOFU vs TOFU content
So instead of wasting time on generic info content, shift toward content that AI can’t easily replicate.
If you’re still producing informational content, make sure it:
Example of real-world data in blog post
AI struggles with this level of original insight.
Example of real-world tests in blog post
If you’re still pumping out basic, Wikipedia-style articles, it’s time to stop.
Instead, shift toward content AI struggles to create—deep analysis, original insights, firsthand experience, and content that helps users make real decisions.
You might find our content strategy template helpful.
If your business relies 100% on Google traffic, you’re playing with fire.
Even before AI Overviews and ChatGPT, depending on Google was risky.
Now? It’s straight-up dangerous.
No one knows exactly where search is headed.
Maybe Google regains trust and stays dominant.
Maybe AI-powered search engines like Perplexity start eating into its market share.
Maybe people skip search entirely and go straight to chatbots or social platforms.
The only safe bet? Diversify your traffic—now.
Search isn’t the only traffic source shrinking. Google’s organic visibility has been declining for years thanks to:
Meanwhile, alternative platforms are growing—fast.
Social media, newsletters, and free tools are becoming the main discovery channels for many consumers.
At Exploding Topics, we’ve always prioritized building multiple traffic sources so we’re never at the mercy of a single platform change.
Here’s how we do it—and how you can too.
Here are a few proven ways to drive traffic outside of search:
Free Exploding Topics trends discovery tool
It’s been a huge source of traffic, especially early on when we had no SEO authority.
Exploding Topics newsletter
Email is algorithm-proof—once someone subscribes, we can reach them anytime.
Exploding Topics YouTube channel
Exploding Topics on X
The best platform for you depends on your audience. If you're in B2B, LinkedIn might be a goldmine.
If you're a DTC or lifestyle brand, Pinterest, Instagram, or TikTok could be huge. The key is to experiment, analyze, and double down on what works.
As someone who’s been in the SEO world for over a decade, I’ve had to adapt to countless changes (Panda, Penguin, mobile, voice search, Featured Snippets and more).
And today is no different.
As I said at the jump: AI is a short-term opportunity. But a long-term threat.
I really believe that.
But to take advantage of the short-term opportunity, you need to adapt.
And to sidestep the long-term thread, you need to adapt even MORE.
If you do, you’ll be in a GREAT spot as search evolves.
Use real-time topic data to create content that resonates and brings results.
Exploding Topics is owned by Semrush. Our mission is to provide accurate data and expert insights on emerging trends. Unless otherwise noted, this page’s content was written by either an employee or a paid contractor of Semrush Inc.
Use real-time topic data to create content that resonates and brings results.
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Written By
Brian Dean
Founder
Brian is the co-founder of Exploding Topics. He is an internationally recognized SEO expert and also the founder of Backlinko. Bri… Read more
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9 Top AI SEO Tools I Recommend in 2025 [With Use Cases] – Exploding Topics

Blog > 9 Top AI SEO Tools I Recommend in 2025
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AI tools offer a lot of value for SEO professionals in many ways. You can use AI to tackle:
Let's take a look at some AI SEO tools I, personally, find very useful as a writer and SEO specialist. 

Semrush is the primary SEO tool I (along with my Exploding Topics teammates) use for SEO analysis, including keywords and topic research.
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Enter a keyword into the Keyword Overview Tool and it will show you key data about your keyword such as volume, difficulty, and intent. 
Any half decent keyword research tool will show you this information, so Semrush isn't unique in that. 
But when it comes to the number of keyword ideas it shows, Semrush usually surpasses other tools: it uses AI to analyze your chance of ranking.
Keyword overview data
Semrush gives you personalized data based on your domain name and topical coverage.
This new AI-powered metric is called "Personal Keyword Difficulty", or PKD.
Use trending keywords to create content your audience craves.
Keyword difficulty can vary greatly between a brand with strong topical authority on a subject and a brand with weak authority. 
So if you want a personalized analysis, you can enter your domain name and Semrush will show you additional stats relevant to your website.
keyword-overview-ai-trends-personal-kd-min.webp
These personalized insights make our jobs easier at Exploding Topics to focus on keywords that are relevant and also attainable. 
Note: Personalized suggestions provided by AI are guidelines. They're not a replacement for your SEO experience and judgment, but they can help guide you towards the right answers.
Who uses the Keyword Overview Tool, and how much does it cost?
The Keyword Overview Tool is widely used by career bloggers, marketing teams, and small-to-large businesses that want reliable data combined with AI tools focused on content marketing.
This tool is part of the Semrush Pro plan starting at $139.95 per month (and which includes a ton of additional SEO tools).
Use its 7-day free trial to start getting AI insights and make your keyword analysis easier.
Semrush AI Optimization lets you track important metrics across multiple AI search platforms: ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude.
It's a step up from the Keyword Research Tool. Enterprise AI Optimization is most helpful for companies with dedicated marketing teams.
According to recent research from Semrush, the average LLM visitor is worth 4.4x the average visitor from organic search.
So large brands really need to pay attention and adapt.
That said, as a writer, I found the Semrush AI Toolkit super helpful when I used it in my own research. It offers insights and metrics that I've never seen before.
And now that search is changing, incorporating AI monitoring in SEO is something all brands need to look at to get a first-mover advantage.
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With that in mind, Enterprise AIO shows you a bunch of helpful data right here on the first page:
You can filter the chart by different LLM search tools.
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It's critical that businesses can adapt to the ways their customers are searching now that tools like ChatGPT are becoming our go-to for almost everything we do. 
Enterprise AIO provides visibility metrics and specific recommendations to improve your presence in the AI answers they see.
In fact, many of these AI metrics are completely new to SEO.
This chart shows you the kinds of topics your potential customers are searching for:
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Of course, you can do your own basic research on how LLMs and AI search engines are presenting your brand and your products. 
But due to the nature of the way these tools work, digging in to find real insights using manual prompting takes time.
It's likely unrealistic to research your reputation manually in the long term.
The Semrush AI toolkit solves that problem. You get actionable opportunities instantly:
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Enterprise AIO is designed for large companies with multiple sites and dedicated marketing teams.
But when I tried it, I was surprised at how simple and accessible the dashboards are.
I believe this is a tool any business could benefit from.
To use it, you'll need a Semrush license. The AI toolkit costs $99/ month on top for each domain you'd like to monitor.
I love Ahrefs for its constant innovation with AI features that are on par with Semrush, but unique in their own way. 
Like, Semrush, it provided a good set of keyword metrics that are actionable and beautifully presented.
keywords-explorer-home-gym-min.webp
Features like the "Also rank for" section add real value. This shows related keywords that domains ranking for your core keyword also rank for.
Ahrefs also addresses the problem of initiating keyword research by providing keyword suggestions with AI.
Typically, you need to have a fairly good idea of what your seed keywords are to initiate your research.
With AI keyword suggestions that populate almost instantly, you can then check the usual metrics like volume, difficulty, and related keywords in bulk.
keywords-explorer-ai-suggestions-min.webp
For me, it's a common experience to find that Ahrefs has no real data about these AI generated keywords.
So you might end up scrapping most of the keyword ideas generated this way.
That said, it's still super helpful in steering you in directions you might not have thought of with some keywords with real data you can apply.
But my personal favorite is the search intent analysis feature.
 ahrefs-keywords-explorer-identify-intents-min.webp
Using AI, Ahrefs classifies search intents by looking at the SERPs for your target keyword. 
This goes beyond traditional intent categories that just assign a label.
Instead, Ahrefs describes the actual topics people are interested in reading about related to that search query in order to satisfy their intent. 
It's great for coming up with ideas for content angles you can include in your post and identifying the format that's likely to resonate with your audience.
Ahrefs is popular among freelancers and agencies as well as content marketers, freelancers, and small to large enterprises. 
Its keyword research features with AI insights can appeal to any marketer focused on organic channels. We covered this in our Ahrefs review.
The Keyword Explorer tool is included in the core Ahrefs feature set with plans starting from $129/month.
Exploding Topics isn't a conventional keyword research tool.
It's one of the only few reliable ways to find emerging topics before they become mainstream.
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While it's not a full-featured keyword research tool like Semrush or Ahrefs, it excels in its AI forecasting technology to detect topic ideas that are likely to snowball into huge trends.
Finding new and trending topics to write about is a strategic way for small businesses and individuals to stand out from larger competitors.
I really like that you can search for potential trends by topic, such as social trends, education trends, or lifestyle trends.
When it comes to first-to-market ideas and seasonal trends, Exploding Topics can be a valuable addition to your existing keyword research toolkit. 
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Exploding Topics is best for niche content creators, investors, and businesses that want to find keyword opportunities before it becomes mainstream.
Exploding Topics starts at $39 per month (billed annually) and offers channel breakdowns, 10 Trend Analyses, and 100 Tracked Trends.
RankIQ uncovers niche blogging opportunities.
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RankIQ helps bloggers find low-competition keywords and identify underserved topics. These topics are often easier to rank highly in search engines in a short period of time.
The best feature for me is the huge range of niches it covers. It differs from other keyword research tools because it doesn't rely on seed keywords.
Instead, you select a niche, and RankIQ will use its unique database of super niche-specific, easy keywords that you can target to rank quickly.
It also has a decent content optimization tool that uses AI to grade your articles.
However, in my experience, RankIQ's unique strength is its curated keyword database.
RankIQ is best for bloggers looking for niche research and content optimization features in one place.
You can access RankIQ SEO research and content optimization features for $49 per month.
SurferSEO is a handy tool for speeding up your content optimization process.
The tool works by analyzing top-ranking content and finding patterns for keyword usage and topics. It provides real-time suggestions based on this analysis to help you create well-optimized content. 
In fact, the tool can use AI to write the entire article for you based on the recommended content structure and keywords. 
surferseo-optimize-content-min.webp
The "Auto-Optimize" option is decent enough when inserting keywords into your content. 
That said, it has a tendency to ruin the flow of a sentence by shoving in keywords without sufficiently altering the surrounding text so that it sounds natural.
Simply adding keywords isn't a guarantee of success anymore. You need to display expertise and originality that's superior to your competitors to succeed in SEO in 2025.
Still, I think SurferSEO is good enough to get you off to a good start when you're optimizing underperforming content.
Just don't trust it blindly and you'll find it useful for saving you time while creating well-optimized content.
You can find a full Surfer SEO vs Ahrefs comparison here.
SurferSEO largely appeals to content writers and SEO brief creators working in teams for medium to large enterprises. 
It's priced at $79/month for its cheapest plan.
Jasper is an AI content marketing tool with a distinctive brand voice feature.
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Jasper’s language learning model uses your content to continuously train and refine its output. The result is that, over time, it will produce writing that mirrors your brand voice.
Some of other Jasper tools that offer a lot of time-saving potential include:
Jasper is best for large marketing teams that want to maintain a consistent brand voice.
However, it is expensive, sp the price likely makes it less attractive for small businesses.
After the 7-day free trial, you'll pay $39/ month for the Creator plan. To add brand voices or knowledge assets, it costs $59/ month per seat.
Alli AI makes instant changes to website code, tags, and headers at scale.
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Alli AI solves the problem of manually updating many pages across large websites. It integrates with content management systems (CMS) to extend their capabilities and overcome some of their limitations.
The fact that Alli AI can make small changes, like title tag updates across a huge range of pages can be great for getting a boost in your rankings. 
For bigger websites, SEO is often a numbers game. The faster you can optimize your pages, the more you're likely to see an overall uplift in organic traffic. 
Alli AI's ability to not only find technical SEO issues on your site but also fix them automatically can save you hours.
This is the major feature that makes this tool stand out for me.
While Alli AI also gives keyword research, keyword tracking, and internal linking suggestions, I wasn't too impressed by these features in my testing. 
Internal linking suggestions are particularly weak. It has a tendency to suggest more and more links for pages that don't really make sense , such as a blog subfolder. 
Alli AI helps large blogs and websites become more visible and attract more traffic by fixing technical SEO issues automatically. It’s essential for marketing agencies and SEO teams that need to update thousands of pages at a time.
Pricing begins at $169 per month for 1 website.
ChatGPT is an AI language model that uses prompts for content creation, ideation, and analysis.
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This powerful content creation tool doesn’t have complex SEO capabilities since it lacks access to information about keywords, traffic, and domain authority.
But we regularly use ChatGPT for SEO. It helps with research, competitor analysis, and sorting large keyword lists. 
For example, with the right prompts, ChatGPT 4o and above models do a good job of analyzing search intents for keywords and clustering them by semantic similarity.
It's a particularly useful tool when you're working with large SEO data (as long as it fits the context window).
chatgpt-thematic-clustering.webp
Besides, the simple fact that it can access spreadsheets as attachments and Google Sheets directly by connecting your Google account makes it convenient when I need my SEO sheets analyzed with ChatGPT.
ChatGPT is best for small business owners, bloggers, and publishers.
You can use ChatGPT for free. If you want more updated and improved content, ChatGPT-4 starts at $20 per month for individuals.
Not all tools labeled “AI” actually use advanced machine learning. The best tools deliver better results by learning from your interactions and input, and then generate more useful and customized data as time goes on.
When investigating SEO AI tools, check to see if they will improve over time based on your needs.
Your SEO needs should guide what you choose. Choose a premium AI writing assistant if all you need is the writing functionality.
If you want to implement full-fledged SEO strategy that drives results, you’ll be best served by a tool that covers keyword analysis, competitor research, and more.
AI tools should easily integrate with the software you're already using, including your analytics software, CMS, email marketing platforms, and more.
Seamless integration enables an efficient workflow and eliminates manual data transfers.
Search engines update their algorithms regularly, and SEO tools should be flexible to adapt as the market evolves.
Look for solutions that are actively developed to stay on top of current keyword strategies, the most important on-page elements, and the latest search trends.
Quick access to helpful support is critical for fixing problems fast. Look at customer reviews on G2, Reddit, social media, and elsewhere to see how other customers have fared.
Responsive customer support usually offers multiple contact points like live chat, email, or phone.
An AI tool should handle large volumes of data or complex tasks without slowing down or becoming too expensive to maintain.
Look for tools that offer flexible plans to accommodate future growth.
Finally, look into the tool’s pricing and make sure it matches your budget and needs. Do your research and thoroughly explore pricing structures.
Avoid hidden fees, and always use free trials to assess an AI tool’s value compared to its price.
A great deal of a marketer’s time is spent on repetitive, time-intensive tasks. AI can automate many of these tasks, freeing up time for creative strategies that make an impact.
Some of the most beneficial uses of AI for marketers include:
AI can remove guesswork and help marketers make more data-driven decisions, leading to better outcomes.
As Semrush is the most comprehensive AI SEO tool on the market, this example shows how it can help with specific SEO tasks.
Semrush’s ContentShake app combines optimization and content ideas. When you begin using it, you’ll go through a workflow to choose your main goal.
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Next, add your business description and target country, such as “content strategist” and “United States.”
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The ContentShake dashboard will show several ideas for blog posts. In this example, it suggested topics around content marketing.
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Semrush’s AI Writing Assistant provides access to 75+ formulas, tools, and templates.
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Start with Article Generator and add a few details like the language, blog title, target keyword, and at least three subheadings.
The generator will produce a high-quality, natural-sounding article. It also provides an SEO score and tips to boost content relevance.
You can also run a plagiarism check and make sure your content is 100% unique.
Inspect your website’s performance without combing through graphs, trend lines, or needing an SEO expert to break it down for you.
Semrush’s AI Copilot will instantly summarize the most important highlights about your site:
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All the important information about your site is laid out in plain English. You can explore each of these performance factors in detail by clicking on a result.
Copilot also sends daily tips like keyword opportunities, link-building suggestions, and technical issues, such as missing H1 tags or 4xx errors. It explains the impact of these issues and how to fix them, saving you time by interpreting the data for you.
SEO has long been a daunting task for many marketers and business owners.
Thanks to AI, SEO tools like Semrush, Exploding Topics, and ChatGPT make it easy to implement meaningful changes that lead to greater traffic and content performance.
Use real-time topic data to create content that resonates and brings results.
Exploding Topics is owned by Semrush. Our mission is to provide accurate data and expert insights on emerging trends. Unless otherwise noted, this page’s content was written by either an employee or a paid contractor of Semrush Inc.
Use real-time topic data to create content that resonates and brings results.
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Deb Dutta

Deb Dutta is a paid media specialist and martech SaaS writer. She specializes in transforming complex technical features into comp… Read more
Research shows that the value of LLM search traffic could overtake Google by 2028. Find out what this means, how to prepare, and more in this report.
Explore free SEO competitor analysis tools for marketers and uses cases. Includes ChatGPT for LLM-readability, Semrush and Exploding Topics for analysis.
Screaming Frog and Semrush are two widely recommended SEO tools—but which one is best? See how the two platforms stack up, and learn how to get an extended Semrush trial.
Use these proven strategies to improve your website SEO for higher visibility in traditional Google search and AI-driven results.
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Integrating SEO into omnichannel marketing for seamless engagement – Search Engine Land

Integrating SEO into omnichannel marketing for seamless engagement  Search Engine Land
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What’s new in Android’s June 2025 Google System Updates [U: 6/23] – 9to5Google

The monthly “Google System Release Notes” primarily detail what’s new in Play services, Play Store, and Play system update across Android phones/tablets, Wear OS, Google/Android TV, Auto, and PC. Some features apply to end users, while others are aimed at developers.
The following first-party apps comprise the “Google System”:
A feature appearing in the changelog does not mean it’s widely available. Some capabilities take months to fully launch.
Account Management
Developer Services
Device Connectivity
Security & Privacy
System Management
Wallet
Important: Some features may be experimental and available to certain users.
Device Connectivity
System Management
Utilities
Wallet
Developer Services
Safety & Emergency
Wallet
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news:
Breaking news for Android. Get the latest on app…
Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com

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Digital Marketing Syllabus: Key Subjects & Insights 2024! – Simplilearn.com

Digital Marketing Syllabus: Key Subjects & Insights 2024!  Simplilearn.com
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What is SEO Marketing? Definition, Importance, and Types (2025) – Shopify

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Start your free trial with Shopify today—then use these resources to guide you through every step of the process.
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SEO marketing is a type of digital marketing that optimizes webpages for search engines like Google, helping your target audience find you more easily.
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Search engine optimization (SEO) has come a long way since the days of keyword stuffing and clickbait copy.
To rank highly in search results on Google and other major search engines, your website’s content needs to match a potential visitor’s intent and appear as an authoritative source on the topic.
Here, learn about the different types of SEO marketing and how to improve organic search results for your online store or website.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing your website to rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs), ultimately driving more traffic to your site. The goal is to appear on the first page of Google results for keywords that are most relevant to your target audience, using organic techniques such as keyword optimization, quality content creation, link building, and enhancing site performance.
SEO focuses on organic strategies, such as writing a blog post to answer a query, to improve a website’s presence in search results. Meanwhile, search engine marketing (SEM) involves paid marketing tactics like pay-per-click ads. SEO and SEM differ in a few ways, such as:
Google drives 63.41% of all US internet traffic, and 42% of online shoppers turn to search engines to research products. With search engines helping users discover brands, search is an important part of running a successful website. 
It’s also a more cost-efficient way to increase your visibility. While you might hire writers to create and optimize content, you don’t have to pay for a better spot on a SERP. Additionally, you can measure your SEO marketing efforts through organic traffic, conversion, and rankings, which can help you gauge the effectiveness of your strategies and give you more insight into your visitors. 
SEO activities fall into three general categories:
The largest bucket of SEO marketing activities, on-page SEO involves optimizing your website’s content (including text, images, and videos) to ensure visitors and search engines can understand and navigate the information you publish.
Creating intentional content can help you make a connection with your audience. “I would much rather have 200 people on my website that are reading content that they do appreciate and potentially subscribe to my newsletter because they see value in this content than to have 2,000 of them that just bounce after an article and will never come back to my website,” says Jeremiah Curvers, CEO of mattress band Polysleep, in an episode of Shopify Masters.
Search engines look for on-page factors like topic relevance and metadata to determine the quality of your content and, in turn, where to rank your site in results pages. 
Web pages that rank highly in search engines contain content that closely matches users’ search intent. That means considering what searchers are looking for when they enter queries and then providing the information or services they’re seeking. For example, if the term “masks” brings up results about beauty sheet masks, it wouldn’t be the right keyword for you if you sell Halloween masks. 
Best practices for producing relevant SEO content include offering original information, updating facts regularly, and sticking to topics within your website’s area of expertise.
Metadata doesn’t appear on your web pages, so it’s not visible to website visitors. Instead, meta information is within your pages’ HTML code, tagging and labeling content in a way that’s easily digestible for the search engine bots that crawl your site.
Keeping meta information comprehensive and updated can increase your chances of ranking. Metadata includes:
For example, Polysleep uses the keyword “baby mattress” throughout the product page copy.
Your website isn’t the only place for SEO marketing; you can create high-quality, unique content, like an interview with an expert in your field, to encourage other sites to link to yours. When a website links to you (a backlink), it is essentially vouching for you. These backlinks can increase your domain authority, which can boost your rankings on search engines.
PageRank is part of Google’s algorithm. It surveys the relationships between websites and the content they link to. This ranking system was one of the original ways Google determined its search engine results and remains an important part of SEO marketing strategy.
By earning links from respected websites, you’ll increase your topic authority and ranking ability. Essentially, the more quality backlinks you have, the more reputable search engines will consider your site.
As you create content, build links, and grow your organic search traffic, your website’s domain authority will increase.
Domain authority is a measure of a site’s trustworthiness in the eyes of search engines. Websites with high domain authority are more likely to rank in search engine results pages for keywords related to their area of expertise.

Technical SEO involves making changes under the hood of your website to improve search performance. Technical SEO ensures your site is fast, optimized for search engine crawlers, and mobile-device friendly. 
More than 60% of website traffic now comes from mobile devices. Search engines cater to these users by directing them to sites that offer an enjoyable mobile browsing experience. This includes responsive design, which is when content automatically resizes based on users’ screen size, touch-friendly design, and simplified navigation.

Nearly all modern website themes are responsive, but you should always test your website by actually using it on a mobile device. This helps identify potential issues with text, buttons, and speed.
Search engines want to point their users toward sites with an enjoyable user experience. A website that forces them to wait—even just a few extra seconds—can dampen their experience.
Shopify stores have an advantage over sites on alternative website builders because Shopify is built for speed. Some 93% of businesses using Shopify to run their online store have a fast website—that’s more than any other major commerce platform. 
Whether you’re planning SEO for a Shopify store or another website, here’s an SEO checklist to help you climb those search results.
Every page of your website that appears in search engine rankings is associated with one or more keywords (also known as search queries). The first step in any SEO project is to find which keywords your visitors are using to discover your site.
To conduct keyword research, use a free SEO tool like Ahrefs or Ubersuggest. These platforms reveal a keyword’s popularity and how easy it is to rank for that term. Tools can also suggest keywords relevant to your niche and analyze your website to determine which keywords you already rank for. Leverage this data to decide which existing keywords are most important to your website and which new keywords you should pursue.
Ideally, keywords should be popular enough to generate significant traffic but not so popular that you’re competing with websites and companies with marketing budgets beyond your scope. For example, say you’re creating an SEO marketing strategy for a candle business, and the brand groups its collections by: 
If “scented candles” has a monthly search volume of 1,000 and a difficulty of hard, but “fruit scented candles” has a volume of 350 and a difficulty of easy, you might choose the latter phrase because there’s less competition, it’s relevant to your brand, and it can potentially generate a few thousand views over a year. You can then use the term for a product page in an H1 tag. 
You may also identify keywords that don’t relate to one of your products, such as “how to make candles last longer” or “how to cut candlesticks.” You can use these keywords for standalone blog posts and include them in your title, body copy, and image alt text to help increase your authority in your industry. For example, Original Duckhead publishes blog content about sustainability that extends beyond its product offerings to position itself as a leader in the space. 
💡 Read more: Keyword Research for Ecommerce: A Beginner’s Guide
Once you know which keywords to target, your next step is checking out SEO competitors already ranking highly for those terms.
By getting to know your competitors’ SEO strategies, you can formulate tactics that will help you climb the search rankings and overtake them. With high-quality, relevant, and comprehensive content, even small businesses can leverage SEO to outrank larger competitors and reach customers first.
A good starting point for competitive analysis is to uncover which keywords your competitors are targeting and where they rank. You can use keyword tools and either study individual competitor pages or their entire websites to learn what terms they’re targeting. You might find, for example, that a competitor is using the phrase “women’s leopard print jeans” on a collection page. If you have a similar product, you can aim to use the same term. 
But before pushing forward with this strategy, ask yourself: Can I reasonably make a better page that makes sense to my business? If the answer is no, move on to the next opportunity. The key is to find strategies you can succeed at that also make business sense. Attempting to rank for queries related to products you don’t sell or topics unrelated to your core business is a waste of time.
Though it can be time-consuming, link building is a well-acknowledged way to enhance your search engine rankings. Attracting links to your website from more authoritative sites signals to search engines that your content is worth visitors’ time.
To begin executing a linking strategy, establish a presence on social media platforms and local business directories. The links you generate from social media sites may not give you a boost in search engines, but they can help with making your website more visible.
You can pitch your business or products to relevant websites or news outlets with the same target audience. If you have subject-matter expertise, consider pitching a guest blog post that points back to your website. You can also focus on your blog and create useful content—such as infographics, case studies, white papers, surveys, or statistics—that others will want to reference. 
💡 Read More: How To Get Backlinks: 15 Proven Strategies
While Google and other search engines focus on your website’s written content, they also crawl your images and media. As a matter of fact, 34.7% of Google searches return images. By optimizing the images on your website, you can enhance your on-page SEO while adding accessibility benefits for visitors.
Start by incorporating descriptive keywords into image file names and writing helpful alt text under 125 characters for all the images on your site. For example, effective alt-text for an image of Cherry Blossom, a pink candle, would be this: “A pink candle named Cherry Blossom in a glass jar on a white backdrop.” This will give search engines another tool for determining whether your content is relevant and valuable.
Next, make sure your images are the optimum size and file format. Google likes large, high-quality images—it just doesn’t love huge file sizes that lead to longer load times. Compress images and use efficient file formats, such as .png or .webp, to improve the user experience and speed up load times.
As with any digital marketing strategy, the only way to know whether you’re making headway on your goals is to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs). Those most relevant metrics to SEO marketing include:
It takes time for SEO to make an impact, but the industry can move at a quick pace. Here are three major trends to keep on your radar in 2025: 
Artificial intelligence has infiltrated most aspects of modern marketing. SEO is no different. 
AI content creation tools (like Shopify Magic and Jasper) can produce marketing copy from a simple prompt. Improve this copy with keyword optimization tools like Surfer—and just like that, you have a ton of engaging, optimized content ready to add to your website. 

Generative AI has proven so popular that Google did a complete 360 on its original stance to deprioritize AI-generated content in search results. But there’s a caveat: In January 2025, Google advised its quality raters to assign pages where the main content is clearly AI-generated as “Lowest quality”. Entrepreneurs who use AI to generate content should follow Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines. This states content should be written with:
There are multiple ways to meet this criteria with AI-generated content. Perhaps you use AI to create an outline, then write the draft yourself, weaving in your (or another expert’s) experience to show credibility. Reference recent studies and fact-check the AI suggestions to ensure accuracy. 
You could also contribute articles to leading publications in your industry. Ask for an author profile in exchange for the content and boast about your credentials—whether that’s a professional certification, extensive industry experience, or examples of where you’ve been featured in the press. This helps cater to one checkbox on Google’s checklist: “Is this content written or reviewed by an expert or enthusiast who demonstrably knows the topic well?” 
Not everyone uses search engines to navigate to a website. Sometimes, the user wants a quick answer—like the hours of operation of a business or the price of an item. Zero-click searches cater to these habits by giving searchers an immediate answer without them needing to click through to a website. 
While this might sound like a disadvantage for ecommerce brands, Google does offer publishers the opportunity to offer immediate answers (and, thus, build brand authority) through search features like:
Increase the odds of appearing in these zero-click snippets by creating high-quality content that answers the search query. Format your content to make it easy for search engine crawlers to find this answer. One way to target the People Also Ask section, for instance, is by creating an FAQ section with short, succinct answers that are easy for Google to excerpt.
SEO stands for search engine optimization. It is a measurable, repeatable process used to send signals to search engines that your pages are worth ranking in organic search results.
Search engine marketing, or SEM, is the creation of relevant content on a website to attract ideal customers mostly through paid search engine advertising. You can increase traffic by creating new web pages or optimizing existing ones.
Yes, SEO is a marketing skill because it involves optimizing a website’s content and increasing traffic through strategic actions. Mastering SEO requires understanding keyword research, optimization, and technical aspects to align websites with search engine algorithms.
An example of SEO marketing is writing blog posts that target specific keywords relevant to the audience. This increases the chances of ranking higher on search engine results pages. It also boosts conversions by attracting customers looking for information or solutions.
Follow these steps to start SEO marketing:
No, SEO marketing is not paid, because it focuses on improving organic search rankings.
The difference between search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) is SEO focuses on increasing organic traffic, while SEM typically focuses on paid ads to increase traffic.
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How AI is reshaping SEO: Challenges, opportunities, and brand strategies for 2025 – Search Engine Land

How AI is reshaping SEO: Challenges, opportunities, and brand strategies for 2025  Search Engine Land
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SEO vs. AISO: What AI Search Optimization Means for Brand Strategy – CMSWire.com

SEO vs. AISO: What AI Search Optimization Means for Brand Strategy  CMSWire.com
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